MySpace/Posts/2009/15thMay2
THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED. Have been debating what is right and wrong for a while regarding ‘illegally’ ripping music and generally treating it as something that has no vale. I am a musician so I am biased. But I know of many friends and piers (rich and poor) in the music industry who never pay for music. Never really cared about it until yesterday. Just though ‘Eh. Cant stop it now. Plus if the record labels hadn’t screwed us over all these years by charging £12.99 for a CD (giving the actual artists 67p out of that) then we wouldn’t be in this situation. I think that is call Karma kicking your rich butt’. However, having given it some extra thought, feel quite upset. Feel weird about the idea that I/ any other artist may have slaved for 4 whole years to make a record only for it to be ripped off an internet site in 3 minutes and 40 seconds for nothing. You = thinking now: Oh poor artist, poor Marina, she got no money, she is writing this blog to ensure that we all buy her album and dont get all illegal on her. I = thinking now: This is not very moral. My previous theory of ” If an artist sells over 500,000 copies, I can rip it off the net” has gone down the loo as it automatically assumes that music has no value, no matter how good it is. For example: Really good band makes really good album. Most of its consumers are aged 14-21. This section of the market rips music of the ‘nets like a bitch. So album only sells 20,000 copies though is owned by more than 200,000 people. Record label thinks band has underperformed and is therefore ‘shit’ so band gets dropped. Band/ artist goes back to working in “x” job and cannot survive by off making music anymore. 14-21 year olds got something for free but have kind of been instrumental in killing a good band from going further with their 14-21 yr old consumer habits. CoOoOl! Some people justify action by saying ‘Hey, i ripped the album but i DID go and see them twice this year and I bought a t-shirt’. My answer: Ha ha ha. Do you know how many artists actually see any of that money, especially indie ones? Fun Fact: Record labels no longer make money from records anymore, so they have to pull revenue from somewhere else in order to survive. Example: Live, Merch etc. My opinion on this is very far from being money motivated. As long as I’m allowed to do this forever and am not being blatantly swindled/ screwed over, I’m a relatively happy person. Just can’t help but think that this is really disheartening. We all now automatically think that music has no/ little worth? If you think ‘ I download music for free- But that doesn’t mean I think music is worthless’ then you are WRONG. Your actions have a knock- on effect, no matter what you currently think. You cannot get something for nothing. These actions are very disabling for artists. If you respect art, buy the record. Spend that humungous 79p you would unthinkingly spend on an overpriced chocolate bar in gas station. You spend £10 on 2 drinks in a club every week (your £10 going to a coked up club manager in a back room btw- i have worked in enough clubs). You also may give £5 to a big corporation like McDonalds for a skanky meal deal, so why not an album? I just don’t really get it, yall… Don’t wanna be chosen over McDonald’s yall.. I would really like to hear your opinions on this, diamonds. Positive or negative, as long as they are honest- ie dont bother saying ”Yeah, I totes agree with you, I respect artists and buy their albums all the time’ when you just ripped Lil Wayne’s album of the internets 2 hrs ago. Just want to understand this problem more and see if my thoughts/ opinions might be somehow wrong or outdated or naive. -What does music mean to you? -Has it changed your life/ views/ helped you in certain periods? -What would your life without music be like? -Would you have the guts to go up to a street artist, grab one of his paintings and run off down the street with it? Thanks for reading.